Average Us Credit Card Debt

The average American household owes $12,000 in credit card debt.

(ouch)

2007-08-23 05:59:08 by hamster

www.totaldebtrelief.net uses a pitcher and a glass of water demonstrate the effects of minimum credit card payments. This video uses a simple ...

WAY too much...I pay off my cards in full every month. I carry no balance and pay no interest. And with my Discover Card I actually earn points that translate into real money. DON'T use a creadit card unless you can pay the bill in full.

2007-05-06 15:26:58 by Bob & Kathy K

Price: $28.00

I have a son who I have put through a private Catholic High School (not cheap!) and he is on to college in 2007. I bought a modest house last year. I receive no child support. I carry a balance on my credit card (low interest rate) and I pay as much as I can every month. I am never late and have an excellent credit rating.

I'm wondering if the balance I carry is high/average compared to rest of US? Of course, I'd love to pay it off, but with the mortgage, tuition, expenses, etc. I cannot.

All things in their proper order.

I am older than you by a good many years I expect. I divorced my husband when my daughters were just 11 and 14 years old, and never received a dime in support from him.

I worked full time at a job I absolutely hated while my daughters were in high school, and then college.

10 years ago my parents needed me to live with them in their home to supervise their daily care. My father's mind was going and my Mom couldn't handle him alone.

I had been saving to put myself through University up to that point. My plan was to do the five years of university to obtain my degree. Then to purchase a house afterwards.

Taking care of my parents shelved those plans. And after five years when my mother died, I had to quit my job as well, because my Dad needed full time care.

I was left my parents house after my Dad died last year, but it sounds better than it is. The place actually needs about 50,000 dollars spent on it (minimum) to bring it up to date.

I have a house. And I have no credit card debt. But I have no job either, and no prospects of one now, since I am getting too old to be considered employable in my former profession.

I guess the point I am trying to make is to keep slogging along. And be thankful for each bit of security you can wrest for yourself. Debt is a b1tch, but it beats having nothing. Just be sure that you get well ahead on paying off your mortgage and other debts before you add anything more to it now.

A personal thought...there seems to be a lot more Superwomen out there in the world then Supermen. You don't see too many of them succeeding with this sort of daily pressure hanging over them. Women just seem to have a greater degree of responsibility and staying power.

2006-12-13 10:47:33 by Marcjc

Price: $22.95

President-elect Obama announced a plan to rectify some of the more abusive practices of credit-card issuers, including banks. But these are not to take effect for some 18 months.

Why not amnesty certain credit-card debt quickly and so give some real spending power to the average person?

I, for instance, have a credit card with some $2000 owing which was issued by Providian, and subsequently was acquired by WAMU before it went under. WAMU maintained and (itself in trouble) would not lower the abusive rates to which Providian jumped -- 24.9% on an original contract of 8%. I missed no payments, but lived in Florida after 9/11 and was able to pay only the minimum each month on a "maxed-out" balance ever since, (as was the case with some other cards), just staying this side of bankruptcy. I guess these factors "red-flagged" and kicked in the higher rate -- eventually reaching 31.4% with WAMU before it collapsed. Other card-debt of mine has been simply sold, so that I received a letter announcing my "New Rate". One of these was sold first to MBNA, and then to BankAmerica -- each time with a raise in interest despite meeting monthly minimums and a little more each month.

In the seven years that I have carried a total debt of about $15-20K, I think I have paid the principle off something like two or three times over. Now, I must pay for the $700Bn "Bailout" out of my taxes, and also continue to pay the monthly payments at inflated interest to J.P. Morgan Chase for the WAMU card, for instance -- despite the fact that Chase paid ZERO DOLLARS for WAMU'S "equity", including my debt.

Why not create an amnesty for debt to these banks that have enjoyed abusive profits for years, where the borrower is someone like myself who has in fact paid the principle amount of the loan and much more? Amnestying those whose total of payments is more than twice the amount of the cards' maximum credit amount seems reasonable to me a dividing line. In my case, that would give me some $600 per month in pocket to inject directly into the economy -- and I would still be doing my part as a citizen in paying my share of the bank bailout through taxes. Things as they are seem so unfair! I mean, I can't exactly call the credit bureaus and wreck the BANKS' credit-score, can I?

Your thoughts? And please -- comments such as "you idiot" aren't useful. There are many thousands of people in my position who have just managed stay afloat rather than declaring bankruptcy -- who now really need relief with the job market as poor as it is, and city rents remaining so high (in great part because of the same "investors" who got us all into this mess).
GEEGEE: The connection with Florida, at least Miami where I was at the time was that as a result of 9/11 the prime industry which supported the economy here in 2001 went bust. Thus, South Florida residency became a 'red flag' for banks on even current debt accounts, because so many bankrupted. Hotel occupancy here, for instance, was under 10% that winter.

As for the earlier answerer who I "TD"d, I borrowed the money at a reasonable rate of interest, and the loan was bought by a predatory bank which raised that to an abusive level. This is one of the practices that will be outlawed by the Obama administration.

And I quote, [pardon me] to wit:

" Amnestying those whose total of payments is more than twice the amount of the cards' maximum credit amount seems reasonable to me a dividing line. In my case, that would give me some $600 per month in pocket to inject directly into the economy -- and I would still be doing my part as a citizen in paying my share of the bank bailout through taxes. Things as they are seem so unfair! I mean, I can't exactly call the credit bureaus and wreck the BANKS' credit-score, can I? "

'Astute. 'Very. However, such is 'too' fair; and perhaps -- rather advanced. Or say, -- rather clear-headed.

But -- some turn on this may eventually come to light anyway once the, say, Devil feels It has gotten Its fair share; hence there is some keen awareness to the affect you announce, enclosed within this 18-month interim you speak to. And to that end, do not be surprised that Obama has just that in waiting, which may bring to bear exactly what you now advance in your thoughts, the like of which, too, may come as honest in the thoughts of comptrollers and economists as the unemployment ceiling rises to 10% and upward (which unofficially is all but there now).

Ultimately, as many have come to see, especially the gentleman and ex-Madoff associate, who recently committed suicide a couple of weeks ago, one were simply to shelve if not all but destroy the old pillars of capitalism and pay down one's principal-debt on each count -- way down, in fact, to which any converse dealings are presently not negotiable. For Wall Street as was known, is no more.

For now more than ever not even the experts in the Schools know how to suggest. What, with Harvard University alone losing 25% of its endowment -- what, Harvard!? featuring arguably the top MBA/DBA Business School programs in the country -- and Microsoft slated to be laying off thousands of IT and hardware engineers and Managers commencing in maybe the next two weeks!

Greed did blind the penny-thrifts to the better algorithms, which imports were needing applied but not heeded. As an ex-G.I., I will say this. We are in combat and thus are to be in combat-readiness. 'Made to improvise.

2009-01-01 18:14:55 by titou

I find it amazing that less than a quarter of us vote in an average election. Most of our marriages end in divorce. We can't keep right except to pass on the interstate. We refuse to use our turn signal. We can't clean our kitchens when they get dirty. We eat the wrong foods. Smoke. Drink. Lie and stay home from work when we aren't sick. We have on average $8000 in credit card debt. Shall I continue? Yet half of us call our President an idiot. Believe somehow we could do a better job. Believe nothing will ever change and yet preach that if only things changed it would be better. My point is this, does the average American have the right to criticize our leaders, government, policies, etc. when they can't even manage their own life properly?

stop looking in the mirror when you pose your questions. you generalize to the point that it's insulting. I fall under hardly any of your categorical averages.

2007-01-23 09:59:53 by Chester's Liver